George turns up with carpet burns from the weekend on his forehead that he’s not entirely proud of and a new track that he is. “It’s got four different basslines,” he enthuses. We all gather round Luca’s soundproofed former garage to listen, only to discover that Luca has broken his cross-fader the previous evening. Sounds like it was certainly a messy weekend! We play the track, a bootleg of an electronic classic that uses a completely unsolicited sample, so of course, it can be played out but never put on a demo. Nonetheless the guys love it. Dirty hard and fast indeed — these guys are the new breed of dance music.

It’s been one year since all we last all sat around this table and in that time the crew have had two wicked parties. Promoters Luca aka Candyman01 and Bubs have been working extremely hard indeed to get DHF on the clubbing map, while ressies Rupert aka Akira, Curious George and Nick the Kid have done them proud. Unfortunately Nick can’t be with us for the interview, but the rest of the crew settle in for a good natter. First up them, I’m keen to hear what the highlights of the last year have been for them.

“Just getting back into the swing of things,” says Rupert, “which has pushed me forward to getting into other things. I’ve now got a residency playing more commercial music every Thursday at Belushi’s at London Bridge—but the term ‘cheese-fest’ is associated with it!” We all agree that most people do like a bit of cheese. “Yes,” continues Rupert. It’s good to get out there. The scene in London has got a lot smaller. But Luca is getting us back into it. We’ve all got a lot of interest in the industry. There’s the opportunity for it to really grow further. It’s inspired me to get into that lifestyle a bit.”

George agrees. “I’ve had more time to get into my studies and get more into production. I’ve a couple of exciting re-edits of an unspecified nature on right now; some white labels.”
“It’s been a great learning curve,” Luca chips in. “I’ve gone from having no experience whatsoever to getting to know the industry — it’s an incredible learning curve. Handling relationships with the venue, the DJs and agents is all part of the industry and it’s good to confront yourself when handling different situations. Working with Will from Frantic has been really rewarding. Despite not reaching the numbers we needed at the last party, his backup has meant a lot. Hidden is an institution and after 12 years of running parties my respect has grown for him immensely. I can see that if you stick to it even in hard times there’s scope to grow.” “Yes,” agrees Rupert: “It’s a big opportunity to be given this kind of support.”

Luca: “Yes and since then I’ve had my first booking with Oneness, a charity event and then the Frantic birthday afterparty. It’s quite cool because I’ve just handed out a few demos so I’m quite chuffed about that as well. Things are working better for us now we’re dealing with the club and working more professionally.”
“I’m also very happy to have Nick [the Kid] on board,” Luca continues. “DHF is his only London residency and I’m really happy about that. His career has just grown and grown after running parties in Devon for 10 years. We’ll push him in London and he knows that. I’m also trying to learn as much as I can off him. He helps us as much as he can. He’s celebrating 10 years of Hindsight and playing for Radio 1 with Kutski. We’re very chuffed — congratulations Nick! It’s so nice to have him on board. He’s a very positive guy, he always sees the positive side so if I’m a bit down I always call Nick.” “He’s seen it all before!” Rupert interrupts. “Yes he sees me stressing out and sketching out and handles it!” smiles Luca.

“I also need to put out a shout out to Louk. He’s very talented, a very good producer. I’ve got five of his tracks that aren’t released. He keeps them tight so there’s o file-sharing with anyone! Halfway through his set at Hindsight he gave me a CD of his tracks. He’s another artist whose career is really taking off and his music is awesome. He’s very talented and has been booked for Def con in Europe. He’s going to be playing music events in the next year and you really need to watch him — alongside Nick of course!”

So what else has been going on in their dirty hard and fast lives, I wonder? What have been the highlights of their last 12 months? “I now do reviews for two websites, including rhum.org.au where I’m Head Music Reviewer,” says Rupert. “I also do film reviews which get about 40-50,000 hits per month. I did a Foundation Media course in TV production and want to get into the more creative industries. I’ve got a few sidelines to keep me busy. It’s all good experience for what I want to do.”

“Getting the twins out of nappies!” laughs Bubs, who works as a nanny during the day. “The highlights for me have been getting out and meeting more people and seeing that there are some really nice people out there. Just getting back out there! And meeting some great people, like Paul Jack. He’s always out there flyering!” “Yes he’s professional and really nice!” agrees Luca.“It shows you that you don’t have to be a complete arsehole to make it in the industry!” Rupert points out.
Bubs continues: “And Dean Zone from Magnetix. We keep meeting people who are just happy to help out.”

“I’ve gotta say that I’ve never done that!” George wakes up briefly to chip in. “What, you’ve never changed a nappy before?!” the rest of the crew are more curious than the man himself. “It’s brown,” smiles Bubs.

“No, not at this junction of my life!” George laughs. So George, maybe not as dirty, but still as hard and fast as he was 12 months ago? “Probably dirtier and harder but not as fast!” he replies. “Maybe we should be DH…!”
“I agree with George!” says Rupert. “It used to be about getting techno up to +16 but I don’t do that anymore.” “But I’d like to say that DHF nights are always dirty, hard and fast!” George is quick to point out. “We’re Still in fast lane but gone a bit to the left!” laughs Bubs.
“I’m trying to branch out into band production, recording bands and stuff at Uni, for my final project at the London College of Music,” George continues. “And I’m getting lots of of my mix CDs prepared as prizes! I like being uberbusy like that!” adds Luca.

So just what is the sound they play I wonder? How, if at all, has it changed and evolved over the least year? “Well it would have to be dirty, hard and fast! There’s 3!” says George. “For DHF it’s Dirty, Hard, Fast and Uplifting!” “Obviously Dirty, Hard and Fast. Convulsive and Corrosive!” laughs Rupert.
Luca agrees: “Dirty, Hard and Fast. European and Techy, because I’m really getting into my tech trance at the moment. There’s a new breed of hard trance coming through that’s heavily influenced by techno and it’s amazing! I still have my love for hardstyle, but a bit of tech trance gives it something new.” “Hardstyle is bombastic music, with massive drops,” notes Rupert. “But tech trance is really progressing.” George jumps in: “They’re moving the game forward; there’s a new and exciting crew.”

“There’s so many influences – electro, techno,” says Luca. “Yes,” George agrees. “There’s a new slant on hard dance through them.” “Louk has influenced me a lot,” Luca continues. “I’m enjoying a lot of techy hard trance and can hear the influence of electro. It’s quite revolutionary and quite new; more techy and less uplifting.”

“The sound has evolved because production levels of music are now much more sophisticated,” says Rupert. “Bedroom producers can now make much more interesting tracks. The monopoly of the record labels has broken and there’s a lot of independent producers out there who are a lot more diverse. I still like what I like but so many different people trying their hand at it and that can only be a good thing.” “I still love a big stomping bassline!” George wakes up briefly again.
The first DHF re-launch party was at Mass, while the last party was at Hidden, where the crew are returning for the birthday this Friday. Why the move to Hidden and why is it a good venue for DHF? “I think it’s great because it’s a Mecca for hard dance,” Luca says. “And having the support of someone in the industry like Will is really important,” adds Bubs. Rupert agrees: “When we moved to Hidden, it just felt like something had clicked and we felt welcome.”

Luca: “Well Will’s the grandfather of hard dance history. Having the support of someone who’s been in the industry for 12 years and knows what he’s talking about. We’re really trying to promote the European stuff because that5’s what I prefer. There’s very few nights in London that promote the quite hard European sound. For the next line-up I want to get some more European artists involved, which is what Nick [the Kid] has been doing for 10 years in Devon. I want to get into the European side of it more than the English.”

Rupert: “Being at Hidden gives the event more credibility. It means we’re doing our own thing, rather than copying the other hard dance nights around.”
Luca: “Hardstyle in London isn’t promoted so much, but I can clearly see that hard house has had its time. It’s still going strong, don’t get me wrong, but I want to educate people to a different range of music. We’re part of Europe so why not?! Nick has also been a bit of an influence.
Rupert: “London is a multinational city, there’s such a diverse group of nationalities. So people will support and go and see DJs from their home country.”
Luca: “London really opens its doors to do many diverse styles of music, it’s awesome – from rock to punk to dance music. And DJs want to come and play in London because it’s special.

Well it’s getting late and we’ve all had big weekends, so we agree to end the article and catch up later with the DHF crew when we quiz them on their interest in music and stuff....